Bangalore Queer Pride March’09: A Report

Did anybody see a rainbow today on Bangalore sky? I did as we drove back from Town Hall, the place where the Bangalore Queer Pride Parade concluded and I thought how very symbolic.

Bangalore Queer Pride Parade, 09. Photo: Vinayak Das

Queer people in Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai and Bhubaneswar today celebrated their ‘being’ under a rainbow colored flag. Gays, lesbians, kothis, hijras, intersexs, transsexuals and straight people walked the streets in large numbers amidst busy traffic dancing, laughing giggling, posing for the numerous photographers…and mostly, being proud of whoever they were in their ‘weirdest’ state of being.

In Bangalore the march started from National Law College and passed through Minerva Circle to reach Town Hall.

One of the brightest and most colorful processions one could witness, it had people dressed in traditional saris and jewelries to micro-minis to off shoulders and sexy tattoos. They had all painted rainbows on their bodies and faces. Some of them wore masks some didn’t.

A three wheeler with a loud speaker led the march with one of the participants chanting slogans like, “Hindu Muslim Sikh Isai, Hetro Homo Bhai Bhai;” “Gay hua to kya hua, pyaar hua ikraar hua;” “One two three four, open up your closet door, five six seven eight, don’t assume your kid is straight.”

The rest of the near thousand people followed the three-wheeler chanting the slogans over and over again. Most of them carried placards and posters with witty lines like, “Gay ho – Jai ho;” “Section 377 sucks” “I am the pink sheep of my family” “Welcome to Ben-gay-luru” and more.

Somewhere behind were 3-4 drummers beating their drums producing an amazingly contagious energy and the colorful people danced to the drum beats like there was no tomorrow.

Photographers, many from the media and many more who just wanted to document the event and show their support, chased the sexy dancers to capture their best moments. And the participants were more than happy to pose for them, give them their best looks.

They danced, they sang, they raised slogans, they teased, they flaunted, they giggled, they shied away, they rejoiced and they smiled. A smile that came from within reflecting the sheer joy they felt in walking for an event that was about their being. It was a day they walked without fear looking straight at common people’s eyes giving a message loud and clear, “Look at me, I exist, how long are you going to ignore me, how long would you call me a freak, how long would you turn your face away when I try to talk, how long will you call me unnatural?”

The joy and festivity of the march stays with you even after you have left the venue and then you are forced to think, “How is it going to help the humanity if those smiles are turned into tears? How is it going to help God’s scheme of things if these beautiful hearts are crushed, their existence denied and their right to love and marry a person of their own choice snatched.”

About the cause…

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is a law which tries to do exactly all that. It is a law that wants to and every day does crush millions of such colorful hearts and souls, in this country, whose only crime is that they want to love a person who had similar genitals like they do.

The religious leaders say it is unnatural for a man to love another man or a woman to love another woman because they don’t contribute to nature’s growth, in other words they do not procreate.

By that logic human beings are nothing more than a penis and a vagina whose only purpose is to produce babies.

The saddest part about this law is that it made India go back 100s of years in time.

Homosexuality, men having sex with men, men having sex with eunuchs and drags, had always been accepted in India. The Khajuraho temple, Konark Sun Temple and the Kamasutra are the living examples of that acceptance. Oral sex and anal sex are explicitly depicted in the temple sculptors and Kamasutra.

Hinduism as a religion doesn’t have any say in sexual performance unlike other holy books where a certain type of sexuality is labeled as sin.

It was in 1860 that the British rulers introduced this alien concept to us, that anal sex are unnatural and that it must meet criminal consequences, without having any regard to our thousands of years old culture and without having any regard to something called consent.

And why would they give regard to culture, tradition or even consent, the law was after all meant to control Indians, the dirty uncivilized natives, who didn’t know what is right or wrong for themselves, why would the super lords care about the native’s consent if they thought anal sex was wrong that was it.

Just think how dumb must a nation be that it is still living with this law which was designed with the very purpose of suppressing its own culture and people. When the British introduced this law they thought Indians were barbaric, un-cultured, obscene, they have such books and temples that talks about sexuality, they must be set right by imposing strict laws. Thus came a law that went against our own expression of sexuality.

British were gone but we continued with their laws. Not just that some of us are so dumb that they now think being homosexual is against Indian Culture. These queer pride parades are a way to remind the law makers of this country that they cannot keep this unjust law and continue violating the citizen’s basic right to chose their sexuality.

The ignorant in the fool’s paradise…

In the March today a friend and I approached the curious onlookers standing either side of the march and asked them if they knew what the march was about and if they supported the cause.

First we approached this 3-wheeler, the driver had just been handed a Bangalore Queer Pride pamphlet which he was going through quite attentively. We asked him if he knew what the pride was about. He had read the pamphlet by then and said he knew and that he surely supported the cause. Behind him in the passenger seat were sitting 3 ladies, one in her 50s the other 2 relatively much younger may be late 20s to mid 30s, the youngest one had a baby. All decked up head to toe in traditional white body golden border sari, gold jewelry, jasmine gajras, bindis etc.

I asked them, “Mam do you know what is this marching all about?”

The older lady said “No” with a smile.

I then turned to the younger ones and said, “Did you read the pamphlet?” They gave a quick look at the pamphlet again but didn’t react at all except a confused smile.

I said, “Mam this is gay pride parade.”

“What is gay?”

“Mam, homosexual, people loving people of same sex, boy loves boy, girl loves girl, that type? You know?”

The lady now gave an even bigger and terribly embarrassed smile, and shook her head in negation with a big “Noooooooo.”

The whole thing was so symbolic, these women in their white saris all decked up and perfect like nothing in the world can touch them, living in their own world without a clue about the other rainbow colored world.

I took a quick look at the baby and thought if only she had heard that part of the slogan more carefully, “Five six seven eight, don’t assume your kid is straight.”

How do we intervene in their perfect world?

These pride parades that are being held annually is definitely a big step in that regard. New York would be holding its 40th annual Gay pride parade. India’s first gay pride parade was held in 1999, Delhi and Bangalore would be holding their 2nd parade, Chennai 1st and perhaps Bhubaneswar also its first parade. That’s how many years behind we are but we are definitely have a strong movement.

More cities should join in the queer pride celebrations every year. One common platform is required for the queer people of all over the nation, their protest activities should be concerted, united they should stand.

Media would play a big role which includes us bloggers too.

Films and television are the other great media particularly the Saas Bahu serials. Put a gay character in one them, perhaps call it “Kuyunki Saas meri lesbian thi.”

—

I can go on but may be another day. This was my first gay pride parade and trust me I am not saying it for the heck of it I really feel my life is so much more colorful now.

I will continue writing about the queer issues in the coming days, so keep an eye on this space.

39 comments

How long the world is going to hide from gays? You are right. But I think gays have increased in number with the amount of publicity their group is getting.

I am not talking about morality here, I am talking about simple things. Imagine, a sexual intercourse (man and woman, or man and man, or woman and woman, it does not matter) in a public place in front of full crowd. I hope you agree that will be the worst scene one can ever watch. Sex and sexuality are best kept behind closed doors. We can watch a XXX video with my partner (man or woman, I mean) in my bedroom and enjoy it.

I am not against gays or lesbians. I am against all the unnecessary hype it is getting. In every human there are traits of gays. The sexuality depends on what we see, what we hear, what we come across.

For centuries, “wedding” means “a family bond between man and woman to bring up THEIR children”. It is there in birds, primates, penguins, and in humans. I am definitely against the law present in India; kill that law. But do not call the partnership between gays and lesbians as “wedding”, call it with some different name, such as “partnership”, “dosti” or “bandhan”, but please do not call it “vivah”, “shaadi”, “wedding, or “marriage”.

I think I am double your age, and I will tell my experience.

When I was teen, the closest body I got was my sister, and we used to sleep together. We used to kiss, suck our tiny breasts and masturbate each other. And of course, our parents never knew about it.

Then in hostel I had to share room with other two. I used to like one of them. When the other used to go on vacation, we used to sleep together. We used to kiss, lick, and masturbate everyday, till the other room mate returned. We did not have all the new instruments of these days, but we have tried every other thing which looks like penis; cucumber and banana to name a few.

If the enviroment on those days were like today, I would have convinced myself that I was a lesbian, and probably would have started behaving like a lesbian.

Fortunately, those days were uncivilized, and I am very much happy about it. I watched loads of movies about men and women, read poetry about love between men and women. Fell in love with every man who came across, but one loved me back.

After all these years, do you know what is the best thing in life? No, it is not sexual pleasure. It is my SON. When I wake up, I come home, I sleep – he fills me with joy. The joy of breast feeding my baby was more than getting licked by my boyfriends (I had 5 in total) and my lesbian experiences. That is nature’s law. You might argue that with current advances we can have test tube babies/ donor mothers/ adoption; but I tell you, nature has made such a jadoo, unless my egg and my womb get the sperm, the joy will not be the same, believe me.

I don’t know whether you are lesbian or striaght. Every human has both traits. Sexuality is different from nature’s course. We have accept the fact that we are not gay or striaght, but we are all bisexual. It depends on our surrounding environment to label us as gay/lesbian or stiraght.

As long as there is libido, human will never stop exploring his sexualitites. It might be man-woman, woman-woman, man-man, 3some, 4 some, group sex, anal, oral, reverse anal, strap intercourse by woman on man..everything. But there is no need to make a procession that “I am a gay”. tomorrow there might be procession “I love anal”.

For me, sex is best enjoyed when it is a secret kept close to my heart.

@ Indira, very honest and interesting point of view I must say. But I beg to differ. Exploring sexuality is a part of growing up and many kids do it out of curiosity which when becomes pleasurable becomes a habit and then when you have figured out what you need you give up that habit and stick to what gives you the maximum fulfilment; physically, emotionally and spiritually. I also as a kid had my share of exploration with boys of my age and also with my girl friends but when I grew up my attraction was focussed to boys and I never wanted to explore girls anymore let alone touch them or kiss them. I guess when there is a lack of oppurtunity to meet boys then also one gets into these kinds of expereinces. I say this becuase I have studied in girls school all my life. But homosexuality is lot more than just sexual preferences. It is surely more than getting married and derive sexual pleasures. Sex is as natural as falling asleep, eating food so why does one need to keep in behind closed doors? I mean I agree we wont take a shower infront of everyone, we would want our privacy when we eat our dinner but we all know that we shower and we eat dinner. Similary whats wrong is letting the other person know that I love people of my own sex. having babies surely is a great experince and I say this becuase I am expecting my 1st baby but there are other people out there for whom raising a baby is as fulfilling as getting pregnant, why genralise everything by saying that adoption cant be as satisfying as getting pregnant. I am sure it is equally rewarding. Similary if homosexuality is just about sex then why cant it be as emotionally and physically fulfilling as straight sex. However, gay pride parade is more than scrapping 377 and allwoing anal sex. Its about accepting the fact that there are other kind of people who are as human as we are and their sexual preferences should not make us judgemental about them nor should they be subjected to harrassment by society or law. Nature, God whatever you want to call the creatre, its not as ordinary or straightlined that God would only create life to procreate and there can’t be a 2 way about it. God and his creation is much more and beyond ordinary thinking and way of life.

“Its about accepting the fact that there are other kind of people who are as human as we are and their sexual preferences should not make us judgemental about them nor should they be subjected to harrassment by society or law.”

Snigdha you couldn’t have put it more thoughtfully. I do hope it will encourage readers to think about what the issues really are.

Sanjukta I’ve shared your post with friends. Your description made me feel I was standing under that rainbow along with all the lovely people and reflecting its colors. Thanks!

Snigdha – Very well put – “Its about accepting the fact that there are other kind of people who are as human as we are and their sexual preferences should not make us judgemental about them nor should they be subjected to harrassment by society or law”. In my opinion thats exactly what I feel that the march is about.

Indira – We all fall into the trap of being judgemental. Thanks for sharing your opinion. I think its an interesting point of view though I dont agree with it.

how does Indira make a blanket statement that we are all bisexual? what about asexual? I think I would like to introduce asexuality in next yr’s parade.

Thing is, these debates can go on, But we all need to respect the differences in opinion and thinking, you may be right, I may be right..but let;s live in harmony and not impose our opinions on others…to me the pride was about just that.

Sanjukta – Thanks for letting us be a part of the Queer Pride through these wonderful images and descriptions. I checked out Vinayak’s flickr stream and it makes me wish even more that I were there.

Indira – Quite an intriguing post. I am a queer teenager, quite younger than you and relatively inexperienced but I disagree with you on many points, however well meant they were. I shall counter them one by one:

1. “..gays have increased in number with the amount of publicity their group is getting”

This is possible but not probable. Queer people have always existed but have been afraid to come out. Only now that there is scope for support and a bit of acceptance that they are coming out and showing that they exist. Gays are not “increasing in number”, as you put it. They are only increasing in visibility. One day when we are accepted as equals there will be no need for this so-called “publicity”. Until then, we must struggle for equality and this is one of the many things that Pride March is about.

The people who participated in the Pride March were not having sex on the streets. No Ma’am. They were simply there to show that even though Queers are different and a minority, they must be treated equally. If you have read Sanjukta‘s post carefully, you must have read the part about Section 377. This little bit of discriminatory archaic law is what prohibits and criminalizes what I do in my bed behind my closed doors. This is why we have to be out on the streets, demanding equal treatment under the law.

As Snigdha says, sex is as natural as sleeping and eating food. Moreover, being gay is not just about sex and being queer is surely not the only thing about me. I’m more than just a queer kid. Similarly, sex is just a part of a queer’s life, like all straight people. The fact that this one thing is enough to discriminate against me and reject me as a human being is what I’m fighting against. It’s not a Pride March for alternative sexual practices, it is a Pride March to extend support to the oppressed minorities. It says: “You are normal and equally loved and you will be accepted as an equal, eventually. Come, be proud of yourself and have faith.”

3. “…unnecessary hype…”

These two words were enough to get my activist personality in gear. This is not an unnecessary hype. It is a very, very necessary event. It is about more than dancing, singing and having fun. It is an act of defiance against the tyranny of the majority against a minority. It is a fight for equality and dignity. This is an act of Queer Activism.

Maybe you live in a protected bubble, so you don’t know much about queer-bashing. When a 15 year old is shot dead by a classmate for being effeminate, queer activism is a necessity. When 11 year old boys commit suicide because of anti-gay bullying at school, queer activism in a necessity. When a 19 year old transwoman is brutally raped and killed on a date, queer activism in a necessity. When a 17 year old kid in India is afraid to reveal her real name online only because she is queer, queer activism in a necessity. Pride March is for equal rights, very much Queer Activism and hence is extremely necessary.

Although, I nitpick to point out that ‘wedding’ is not congruent to ‘marriage’. Wedding refers to the process of getting married. Anyway…

This particular argument of yours reminds me of similar arguments made by religious extremists in the USA. “Marriage by any other name,” reeks of discrimination. Seperate isn’t equal, Indira. Also, isn’t a marriage about more than just bringing up children? Isn’t it more about the love that two individuals have for one another? Do all marriages result in children? Is it necessary that they must procreate?

And who says that a queer couple cannot bring up a child together? Who says that they are somehow not qualified to call their loving relationship a “marriage” and call the child their own? You put an emphasis on ‘THEIR’, I ask you, is an adopted child in a straight relationship inferior to a biological child? Your statement seems to imply as such.

Further in your comment, you speak of the joys that breastfeeding your son gave you. You compare it to the sexual thrill given to you by your sexual partners. Is this comparison appropriate?

I am sure that a queer couple can perfectly enjoy the joys of parenthood just like a straight couple can. A lesbian couple can give birth to THEIR own babies and breastfeed them too. They are perfectly capable to enjoy a wholesome relationship between themselves and their children. Their marriage is no lesser than yours and deserves to be respected as such.

I cannot bring myself to comment on this part. Suffice it to say that I have a sister too and I have never even thought of doing such things with her. I did not need to have sex with my sister to discover or confirm my sexuality.

I knew I was gay/lesbian/queer when I was 7-8 years old, without participation in any sexual experience. How, you ask? Well, I didn’t even know at that age that the word ‘gay’ existed. I just knew that I wasn’t like other kids. I liked girls in a different way than I liked boys. In fact, the way I liked girls was similar to the way boys liked them. I know this isn’t an accurate or proper explanation, but I just knew, very well, that I was different.

6. “..we are all bisexual..”

A gross generalization. As trauma queen mentions in her(?) comment, what about asexuality? And what about pansexuality? You should know that sexuality can be defined in more ways than gay and bisexual.

I do not categorize myself under any of these labels. LGBT – Four letters. But where do I fit in? I refer to myself as simply ‘queer’. I do not fit neatly in the ‘lesbian’, ‘gay’ or ‘bisexual’ boxes. I’m not transsexual, asexual, intersexed or straight. Hence, just ‘queer’. What exactly am I? I don’t know for sure myself. It is very complicated and I’m still in the process of self discovery. So, I won’t go into the details.

I hope, Indira, that my counter arguments have provoked some thought in your mind. Think about it all and you will understand. Understanding creates acceptance. And with acceptance the world just might become a better place to live in, for all of humankind.

Regards,
Firebolt(A 17 year old Indian queer forced into anonymity)

P.S. Sanjukta, I love your blog and have added it to my blogroll. And sorry for the essay. Cheers! ^_^

Incognita – Thank you! I’m glad that you liked it so much. It is unfortunate that our society is so shrouded in baseless myths, that a solitary voice like mine will be lost in the crowd. We ought to work together and scream louder and prouder if we are to fight discrimination. It believe that if we try hard enough we can change the world, one step at a time.

Every little bit helps and I tried to make a point today. Hope it makes a difference.

Well,I am 60 years young, had wonderful life with gays, lesbians and straight, have a child and feel that section 377 of IPC is criminal, must be scrapped.Freedom of life is all encompassing, society has changed its rules over the years, as lifestyles have changed,in todays’ material life, if Y generation has all its time for fast life, they have worked hard for it, they are responsible for it, so a section 377 which is more than century old has got to go, as long as the lifestyles do not hamper peace & tranquility of society the rules are for maintaining law and order, not to break them.Let us accept that some of us have different tastes be it in food, dress or music, so all have their rights to enjoy what they like without encroaching the space & rights of others. Lots of love and regards,
love69sex.
PS: I joined the pride march at Minerva circle to the merriment of lots of transgenders who started dancing with me and I had a whale of fun.

@Firebolt – I must say – very very well put. You write very well too. After I read Indira’s post my mind was in a tizzy. There were so many things that I found objectionable/wrong/disturbing in her post ( though I believe – written in all honesty ) that I could not really formulate a reply. I am very happy that you have spent the time and replied extremely well. I was having a discussion about this with @snigdha and we were discussing the same.

@Indira
I appreciate your honesty and candor, even if I fundamentally disagree with a lot of what you have to say. Like Firebolt above, I am a queer Indian teenager, so of course, I am much younger than you are. But I do have something to say in response to the points you raised.
First, you say “gays have increased in number with … publicity.” I think the point you are missing here is that people become more comfortable about accepting their sexual orientation, even if only to themselves, knowing that they are not the only ones with these “deviant” feelings/thoughts/emotions.
Next, you say sex and sexuality should be kept behind closed doors. I’d agree that I’d prefer (personally) to keep my sex life behind closed doors as I am a bit of a prude, but that alone is no reason to make a blanket judgment for all people. Besides, romance and affection need not be kept behind closed doors, need they? However due to the devastating effects of society’s homophobia, I couldn’t possibly express affection for a girlfriend in public as I could have for a boyfriend, if I were to have one.
This actually leads me to my next point. You claim that we all have “traits of gays” and “sexuality depends on what see, what we hear, what we come across.” I couldn’t disagree more. After all, what I see, whether it be in the form of couples around me, or in films, or on television, are expressions of heterosexual sexuality, and society’s presumptions of heteronormativity. Shouldn’t that alone have cultivated an ounce of heterosexuality in me? It didn’t.
As for your experiences with your sister and roommate, I can’t say I can relate to something like that, but I can relate to the opposite, in a way. I identify as gay but I haven’t had any sexual experiences with women (beyond some kissing and very G-rated physical intimacy). I have had sexual relationships with men – and though they weren’t disgusting to me, they just did not feel right.
Also, please don’t presume that your experience with sexuality holds true for everyone. Not everyone is “bisexual” to different degrees, though there is something to be said for a spectrum of sexuality. Some people truly are exclusively homosexual or heterosexual, or (it’s been mentioned before) asexual.
Something else that irks me about your comment, though it doesn’t necessarily have to do with the sexuality aspect is your comment that that only children born through natural conception give their parents the full joy of parenthood. I can’t even begin to say how angry that makes me on behalf of all my friends and cousins that were either adopted or born through IVF, and have the most wonderful parent-children relationships.
Honestly, if being gay were just about the sex, I may not have cared very much about queer issues at all. But it isn’t. It’s about our identities, our emotions, our families, our sense of belonging, our mental well-being, it’s about US in our entirety as human beings.

applepiecrust: It is heartening to wake up and read your candid and highly articulate response. There are so many refreshingly different perspectives on the question of an individual’s personhood. There are also universal truths such as the sanctity of all life and through this medium we can help to bridge differences and open people’s minds. Thank you for your initiative in reaching out fearlessly and respectfully to those who are older and less informed. Society has encouraged closing the doors on the truth and people have been consistently misinformed and misled. But I’m confident that we can trust the upcoming generation to light the dark pathways and lead!
Much love
Incognita

Actually a lot of well meaning older folks talk down benevolently to the young ones. They are totally unprepared for the thoughtful, respectful but utterly truthful & irrefutable responses.

As for the religious fundoo brigade, they are “dressed in a little brief authority.” Their survival depends on brokering the whole divinity stuff to a susceptible population that they hold in their grip. This is a universal phenomenon of tyrannizing large numbers of ignorant people. Their survival hinges on the perpetuity of ignorance and disinformation. India, USA, everywhere. Ignorance, far from being bliss, is a channel for evil and hence a “collaborator” in crime. The government might do better in criminalizing the manipulation of ignorant minds by vested interests. But hey! Govt is also part of the deal isn’t it?

Thanks,
to all of you, for reading my response, I am happier now that the high court of Delhi has recognised the section377 in its correct interpretation, thus the act of having sex as one wants, being adults is no more a crime.
I have another grouse, why anyone in society is called queer, just because he/she does not follow the trodden path, making your own choice in life is not queer. Following the old path is queer, so it is not correct to call the ones who have different ways of living as compared to established ways of living are not queers, but are to be appreciated for their freedom of being different from the ordinary life styles, as long as their life styles do not hurt others in society, it is perfectly alright.

Well, my friends, I was pretty annoyed at the clergy of all the faiths who were trying to impose their will on law makers and law keepers by subtle ways on the issue of scrapping sec.377, and the law minister Veerappa Moily developing cold feet but high court of Delhi having better perspective of justice.
Kamal Farooki of muslim law board talking of “morality” a priest of catholic church talking politically correct, but both subtly avoiding the truth about the desires of even those who have devoted their life for “gods’ work indulging in carnal pleasures in madrasas and convents and seminaries, instances are many, but sister Abhayas murder is reason enough for these moralists to look in to the cabinets for skeletons. babas, godmen who frequent the headlines, likes the one from Haryana who raped and murdered his devotee is a pervert, queer criminal, not those who have their life style with consent, with mutual love and compassion.

@incognita, it is not benevalence, it is love and affection, respect for the youth who are having enough courage to be proud of displaying as they are, sans hypocracy of my time.

All of us have keen interest to explore the human body, ours as well as that of our accepted partner, few have courage to admit it to others in society, as double standards of citizens are well known.
Todays youth has to work in shifts, to earn a decent living, he/ she has no quality time to offer to his or her “family”as both the partners have different demands on their available time, traditional marriages are breaking down on various issues such as incompatibilty due to working hours, dowry, taking care of children, leaving hardly any time to “enjoy” life. In the circumstance, if one is happy to have his/her companion as “live- in” as tv anchors call the relationship, it may not be ritualistic marriage, but certainly it has all the love, affection and compassion of one human to another in their life.
Regards.

What if in future a sect of people parade on roads expressing that they are sexually oriented towards animals like dogs, goats and horses and oppose some IPC NNN? Should our Judiciary amend the law to allow consensual sex(!?!) with those animals also..?

If animals could express consent that could be percieved and comprehended by human beings then Yes. Consent is the key word here.

But just like people below 18 years are presumed to be incapable of giving consent to sex, whether hetero or homo, similarly animals can’t give consent.

So sexual intercourse with animal would actually be a certain kind of statutory rape just like consensual sexual intercourse with a girl below 18 years of age is considered rape even if there was consent from her.

But the day animals started to speak and fall in love with humans and wanted to marry them and have children they shall have the right to do so.

1. Consent could be the keyword, but what is the whole *purpose* of it?

2. Came across few research papers which mention the distinction between the the part of brain that determine the sexual orientation of a homo and a hetero human being. The research says, the altered sexual orientation could either be by nature or by nurture or both. In the cases, where it is by nurture (I mean the influence of the surroundings) it is a habit picked along while growing up. So can’t this be changed or *straightened* just like a rehab thing..?

@Anantha, freedom does not give license to hurt other living beings, human, being social animal, if he craves for the company of other animals, it can not be one way traffic.
As to research in human behaviour, it is still being researched if the researchers have the real understanding of what they have been searching for decades, if one researcher says iodised salt is good, the conditions where this iodised salt is good is not mentioned, tropical countries follow blindly commercial interests to sell iodised salt with the consent of those in power, thus salt becomes a costly ingredient.!
True, the behaviour is molded from the circumstances one grows in, but the indomitable spirit of human life has always tended to rise above the man made circumstantial barriers, be it IPC sections which are irrelevant in changed circumstances.When in democratic life, majority view can not suppress dissent, has to accommodate the differeing views, why the prejudice against different orientations.?

A quick word regarding the age of consent: for heterosexual sex it is actually 16 years (as opposed to 18) but for homosexual sex it is 18. Why the discrepancy? Of course, one shouldn’t expect too much of the government in light of the recent victory but there’s something amiss.

@love69sex you say “it is not benevalence, it is love and affection, respect for the youth who are having enough courage to be proud of displaying as they are, sans hypocracy of my time.”

People like you and me feel love, affection and respect for their courage. I’m glad we’re are there for these young people. If older persons in general felt that that way it would be a different scene altogether. I’m referring to that generality who are judgemental, patronizing and plain repressive.

Today is an important day – let’s stand by those whose rights have been recognized at last and celebrate!

@Incogniya, well said, when I was in my teens, the societal norms for morality was totally different, times have not changed, the individuals in society have changed according to the new trends in society, so, we have to let the present generation have there way, as we had our say in our time, when we had our say. Love and respect to all makes things easier, stubborn orders are not useful in getting the things moving, work done, but nice way is to be patient,but firm in seeking the goal.

TED Fellow

‘This is My Truth’ is a collection of writings by Sanjukta Basu, a mind unconditional, unapologetic, unstructured, un-every order, she's a woman in her own way, man too, the same way; lives to love, loves to live, write, travel, click and dream. For more about her go to About Author